Day after Sirsa showdown, 100 farmers booked

SIRSA: Sirsa police registered a case against 100 farmers who protested against the BJP’s district executive meeting held at Chaudhary Devi Lal University (CDLU) in Sirsa on Sunday, in which three police personnel and as many farmers were injured while the rear windshield of Haryana legislative assembly deputy speaker Ranbir Gangwa’s car was broken in stone pelting, IGP Rakesh Arya said during his visit to Sirsa on Monday.
Police sources said farmer leader Prahalad Singh Gilakhera was named in the FIR in which attempt to murder section has also been added. But there was no confirmation of the same.
This FIR was kept a secret by Sirsa police whose officials didn’t reveal its content till evening. While interacting with the mediapersons in Sirsa, IGP Arya only confirmed about the registration of an FIR in this regard. He said detailed information about this would be made available from the police public information officer, but Sirsa civil line police station in-charge, concerned DSP and even Sirsa SP didn’t speak about it.
On the question of lack of police arrangements, the IGP said now he would not comment on it. He said this was an administrative visit and Sunday’s incident will also be reviewed.
On Sunday, Sirsa BJP had organised its executive meeting in the auditorium of CDLU and police had barricaded all the university gates as a precautionary measure. A few farmers entered the university campus by breaking the barricade of a gate, after which police took them into custody.
Afterwards, farmers also gathered when the deputy speaker was leaving from Sirsa. Protesters and police personnel engaged in a scuffle and a few farmers pelted stones at vehicles, in which the rear windowpane of the deputy speaker’s car was damaged and three policemen and three farmers were injured.
During this, the police detained many farmers, after which the road was blocked at many places in Sirsa district. Later, the police released the farmers on Sunday night, after which the farmers had lifted the blockade.